Suggesting that the job market got off to a strong start in 2017, payroll processor ADP released a report on Wednesday showing much stronger than expected private sector job growth in the month of January.
The report said private sector employment jumped by 246,000 jobs in January after climbing by a revised 151,000 jobs in December.
Economists had expected an increase of about 168,000 jobs compared to the addition of 153,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
"The U.S. labor market is hitting on all cylinders and we saw small and midsized businesses perform exceptionally well," said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute.
ADP said small businesses added 62,000 jobs, while employment at large and medium businesses increased by 83,000 jobs and 102,000 jobs, respectively.
The report also showed a significant increase in employment in the service-providing sector, which surged up by 201,000 jobs.
Employment in the goods-producing sector also climbed by 46,000 jobs, reflecting the strongest job growth in the sector in the last two years.
"Job growth is solid across most industries and company sizes," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics. "Even the energy sector is adding to payrolls again."
Friday morning, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly employment report, which includes both public and private sector jobs.
The report is expected to show that employment increased by 175,000 jobs in January after climbing by 156,000 jobs in December. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.7 percent.
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